The Other Brother

On first glance I was immediately enticed to read the novel. The colours, design and slick paperback gloss made it seem a manageable read, and the two boys nearly kissing on the cover sparking interest in a 'boy love' romantic story. I curled up and read it in one sitting, the night I was given it!

It was only when our protagonist Ryan comments that Cody 'plays tennis for New Zealand' towards the end of Chapter 1 that I clocked it was even set in New Zealand—which was actually a super pleasing discovery because I was already enjoying Ryan's thoughts and humorous take on events and his family. That sense of familiarity—I know this place and these people—was definitely engaging.

The complicated family dynamics were super interesting and although unique, I'm sure thousands of kids and parents navigate such strange waters of mixed, blended families every day. The harsh and unfair way Ryan sees his mother and her ex-husband navigate how they have involved their now adult daughters in their break-up struggles—would be a good lesson for every parent, and ease those anxieties in teens reading about these laden interactions and considerations coming out of other people's mouths and minds.

It's laugh out loud funny at times, and an absolute page-turner. I was hungry to find out how things resolved. It was a deliciously sweet romance and as the two boys fall in love with each other so do we—with the pair of them.

I am the staff facilitator of the school 'Hes, Shes, Theys and Gays' diversity group and so to have this book on my shelves would not raise eyebrows as much as it might elsewhere in our school, as homophobia and homophobic slurs are commonplace. This is the exact reason why books like this, with covers like this NEED to be in teen classroom book shelves and displays. I will definitely be including this in my class novel recommendations for years 9-13.